These images compare ice age, a proxy for ice thickness, in 2007, 2008, 2009, and the 1981–2000 average. 2009 saw an increase in second-year ice over 2008. At the end of summer 2009, 32% of the ice cover was second-year ice and three-year and older ice were 19% of the total ice cover, the lowest in the satellite record.

European marine regions include the north-east Atlantic and Arctic oceans, and the
Mediterranean, Black and Baltic seas. Human activities — such as fishing, aquaculture and
agriculture — and climate change cause large and severe impacts on Europe's coastal and marine
ecosystems. The EU objective of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been met in either the
coastal or the marine environment. Recognising the need for an integrated ecosystem-based
approach to reduce pressures, the EU Integrated Maritime Policy allows for the development
of sea-related activities in a sustainable manner. Its environmental pillar, the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive, aims to deliver 'good environmental status' of the marine environment
by 2020, and the Common Fisheries Policy will be reformed in 2012 with the aim of achieving
sustainable fisheries. Complementary policy efforts include the EU Water Framework Directive and
other freshwater legislation, and the Habitats and Birds Directives.

'One degree matters' follows social and business leaders as they travel to Greenland and experience for themselves the dramatic effects of the melting of the ice cap and come to understand the planetary effects of climate change and the impacts these will have on society and the economy. The film brings to the screen the latest science from the Arctic and shows why a further rise in global temperature of one degree matters for the future of humankind.

Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA), and three of her colleagues have chosen to be part of an extraordinary journey in East Greenland. They travel from their offices in Copenhagen to participate in a multi sport race, where they challenge themselves through 250 kilometers of the Arctic wilderness. On their way they encounter the effects of climate change and its impact on the Arctic environment. The Inuit are among the first people to experience the effects of climate change. They are in the middle of an environmental challenge that will change many parts of their culture. What is happening to the Inuit today will happen to the rest of the world tomorrow. We will all need to adapt to climate change.

In her speech, Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA), stresses the importance of imbedding climate change into planning systems and processes. ESPACE (European Spatial Planning: Adapting to Climate Events) is a four-year European project promoting the importance of adapting the entire planning process to the impacts of climate change.

The extent of the sea ice in the Arctic reached a new record low in September 2012. Climate change is melting the sea ice in the region at a rate much faster than estimated by earlier projections. The snow cover also shows a downward trend. The melting Arctic might impact not only the people living in the region, but also elsewhere in Europe and beyond.

Average global air and ocean temperatures are rising, leading to the melting of snow and ice
and rising global mean sea level. Ocean acidification results from higher CO2 concentrations.
With unabated greenhouse gas emissions, climate change could lead to an increasing risk of
irreversible shifts in the climate system with potentially serious consequences. Temperature
rises of more than 1.5–2 °C above pre-industrial levels are likely to cause major societal and
environmental disruptions in many regions. The atmospheric CO2 concentration needs to be
stabilised at 350–400 parts per million (ppm) in order to have a 50 % chance of limiting global
mean temperature increase to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels (according to the IPCC in 2007,
and confirmed by later scientific insights).